10 Things Every Autism Mother Wants

To all the autism mothers, Happy Mothers Day! You deserve a day all to your self. From our "random sampling," here are 10 things every autism mother wants:

10. About 1,000 less nasty stares when your child has a meltdown.
9. Insurance that covers autism treatments.
8. A doctor that knows more about autism than you.
7. Sleep.
6. A winning lottery ticket so you can break even on autism treatments.
5. Healthy food your autism child will eat.
4. A week at the spa -- without the kids.
3. One less random person telling you that they know the cure for autism.
2. The school called. Your child is Valedictorian. Again.
1. To hear, "I love you Mommy!" on Mothers Day.

Happy Mother's Day from all of us at Autismproductreviews.com!

Night Time Autism Tantrums Put to Bed

We empathize with you: Autism children are a lot of work. Add a sleep disorder or a nightly tantrum and that does not leave you time to rest. Melatonin is a natural medicine that will help your child, and you, sleep.

Melatonin is a natural, over-the-counter drug. It is produced naturally by the pineal gland. It is secreted when a person is exposed to darkness. Under normal circumstances, the strongest concentrations are between 2-4 a.m.

According to Science Daily, melatonin is very effective for children with autism. This isn't the only study out there. There have been over a dozen studies of the effects of melatonin on children. It is not addictive, and there have been no adverse side effects reported in any of the studies. A positive side effect is it can act as an antioxidant. One side effect is grogginess in the morning, and if too much is used the child can become depressed.

We started using melatonin out of desperation. After a night of no sleep, our autism child started having severe tantrums. And the tantrums were in the middle of the night. We had maybe two hours of sleep each night for a week. We used very little, it was about 1/16th of 1 mg. It worked, and it gave us the sleep we needed.

The next morning the results were fantastic. After a full night's sleep we saw huge improvements in our child's behavior. We still use melatonin on our child. The dose increased very little. Generally we use about a quarter to a half a 1 mg tablet.

In the past our autism child would not take pills. Melatonin doesn't have any taste, and it is easy to crush. At first we just put a tiny bit of powder on our finger and put it on his tongue. Later we tried mixing it in his beverage; this failed completely. The best way we found was to crush the pill and put it in desert, like yogurt or applesauce, before bed. That works well.

The trick with using melatonin is to give it to the child 30-60 minutes before you want them to sleep.

Even though it is a natural, melatonin is a medicine. It really only should be used to help a child sleep who normally would not. A doctor should be consulted before using it. (Should the doctor want a study to look at, two references have been listed below.)

There are few miracle drugs for autism children, but this is one of them. It helped our child sleep and gave him better behavior. But more importantly it helped us sleep. That gave us the energy to help our child--and that only helps us love him more.

Grade: A

(For any medicine, be it natural or synthetic, check with your doctor before using it. This article is not to give medical advice but rather information about melatonin. Please consult your physician before using any medicine on a child.

We recommend using Nature's Bounty Melatonin 1 mg. It does not contain any gluten or casien. If a doctor asks to see a study, point them to Ivanenko A, Crabtree VM, Tauman R, et al. Melatonin in Children and Adolescents with Insomnia: a Retrospective Study. Clin Pediatr 2003;42:51-8. As well, this study is helpful. Smits MG, van Stel HF, van der Heijden K, et al. Melatonin Improves Health Status and Sleep in Children with Idiopathic Chronic Sleep-Onset Insomnia: a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2003;42:1286-93. Source: Buck, Marcia L., The Use of Melatonin in Children with Sleep Disturbances, Medscape.com )

Internet Safety Easy with Zac Browser

The Zac Browser is the safest Internet browser for any child -- but it's designed specifically to benefit autism children.

John Lesieur is the creator of Zac Browser. His grandson, Zackary, has a severe form of autism and did not communicate well. John realized that his grandson did not use a computer. He figured that his grandson would be able to better communicate and increase his self esteem by using a computer. And the Zac Browser was born.

We downloaded Zac Browser and installation took about three minutes. Once in the Zac Browser there are games, videos, music and stories. When the browser is open, it is difficult for an autism child to close out of it. Thus, it's completely safe and easy to use. Autism children have complete control of the web through Zac Browser. And parents don't have to worry about the child seeing advertisements or bad content. It allows the autism child to act independently.

Our autism child reviewed the entire site in about an hour. He enjoyed his favorite sites such as PBS Kids and Playhouse Disney within the Zac Browser. He doesn't experience sensory overload or have a tantrum when a Web page is confusing.

This is a near perfect product. We only had one small gripe about Zac Browser: content should be expanded. We would love to see more educational materials, especially social stories, on the site. But even then, it is an extraordinary piece of software.

The browser is completely free. There are no advertisements or tracking software. And children, whether they have autism or not, love Zac Browser.

The Zac Browser should be installed on every autism child's computer. Download it today.

Grade: A

Mickey Delivers Autism Relief

Right down to the hotel, Disney may have the perfect vacation for autism children.

Going to a theme park is exciting. But for a child with autism, a theme park is absolute torture. Waiting in line causes an autism child to have severe tantrums. Add this to sensory over-stimulation and unhealthy food, get ready for a horrible day for everyone in the group.

We have visited Kings Dominion, Six Flags and Sea World. None of the parks were as autism friendly as Disney, although Sea World was bearable. At the other two parks, we suffered through severe breakdowns while waiting in line. We had to leave early.

That was not the case at Disneyland. They figured out how to cater to those with autism.

They start with a pass specifically for disabled individuals. This pass is not the Fast Pass and does not cost extra. Autism children get to go to a shorter line, along with the rest of their party.

To get the pass your autism child goes through a quick evaluation. After that, all you do is go to the disabled entrance and show the pass to the ride operator. This allows the child and their entire party to go to the front of the line.

An autism vacation at Disney also works well because of food. Disney has gluten-free food at nearly every restaurant and hotel they run. According to a cast member at Disney Dinning, all you need to do to get gluten-free food is ask a manager.

Many children with autism are sound sensitive and Disney hotels accommodate them too. All you need to do is let the hotel clerk know your situation and ask for a quiet room. So instead of having a tantrum at your lodging, everyone can get a full night's rest.

In addition, cast members are always smiling and go out of their way to help. Everything is clean and organized at Disneyland. This is gold for an autism child who might not understand emotions well, and craves organization.

After getting the pass, Disney made our days easy. Our autism child was able to wait through a shorter line and he didn't have tantrums. And he told us what he wanted to do next. For the first time, we saw him just enjoying being a kid. That meant the world to us.

Rides we recommend avoiding are the Haunted Mansion and Tom Sawyer Island. The entrance to Haunted Mansion is a giant elevator that fills with a couple hundred people--and very close quarters for an autism child. We also easily lost our son in the tunnels at Tom Sawyer's Island, although we always felt he was safe.

We found Disneyland to be good therapy for our autism child, and gave us a well deserved break. Finally, here is a company that understands the needs of autism children and their parents.

You must go to Disneyland with your autism child at least once. It will be one of the greatest experiences your autism child will have. I'll bet my Mickey Mouse ears hat on it.

Grade: A

Jenny McCarthy Joins Oprah as TV Host

Great news for mother warriors: Autism book author Jenny McCarthy will be hosting a syndicated talk show with Oprah in addition to her blog on Oprah.com and a new talk show of her own.

Jenny and Oprah have brought world wide attention to autism. Autism is growing faster than childhood obesity and cancer rates and is worth the attention Oprah and Jenny are giving to it.

Although Jenny will also have shows on other topics, we know that fighting autism is her passion. We can't help but see this as a victory for the autism community. We know Jenny will keep up her fight to find a cure, help with prevention for all those afflicted.

E! Online reports: "Oprah Winfrey's ever-expanding empire has just, well, expanded. Harpo has welcomed Jenny McCarthy into its hallowed fold, signing the actress up for a multi-year deal to develop several projects, including her own syndicated talk show, per the Hollywood Reporter. The partnership kicked off on Friday with the launch of a McCarthy-penned blog on Oprah's official website."

Check out Jenny's blog on Oprah.com: http://www.oprah.com/bi/jenny-mccarthy

Congratulations to Jenny on her multi-year deal with Harpo Productions!

Sour Spray Autism Tantrums Away

Going to a wedding, a funeral, or an airplane ride with an autism child can result in a major tantrum. The problem is you want to (or have to) be there, but feel that it will be too much for your child. We found an item that can help.

Since our autism child wants mouth sensory input, our occupational specialist suggested Warheads Sour Spray Candy. We were surprised. It's not the usual suggestion for autism children. But it does not have gluten or casein, so we tried it.

We were pleasantly surprised by the outcome. During the middle of a special event, our autism child started to have a breakdown. All it took was one spray and the tantrum went away. We told him that if he was quiet, he would get another squirt. About every ten minutes, he'd ask for a spray. But he sat through the entire event.

We found that Warheads Sour Spray Candy is a good way to quiet down an autism child quickly. It has the added benefit of mouth sensory input. Lemon juice could also work, but it spoils, and Warheads Sour Spray Candy does not. It's handy, and keeps in your purse or pocket.

We don't recommend this for every tantrum -- only special events. Autism children will get wise to a sour spray reward for a tantrum. Other downsides are it's sticky and the cap can come off, so you can't allow the child to suck on the bottle. There has been instances of acidic sensitivity when consuming large amounts (like drinking it straight). But if you want to go to a quiet special event, this may be the only way to get through it without an incident.

We feel that if it is only used at special events, or places that we know our child will act up (like church, long lines or weddings), this is a great product. Warheads Sour Spray Candy is a temporary solution to a temporary problem. It would have been graded higher if it was sugar free.

Grade: C

Therapeutic Listening for Autism Kids

Listening therapy is a controversial topic for parents with an autism child.

Therapeutic listening was adapted from the works of Guy Berard, Alfred Tomatis, and Ingo Steinbach. The programs require intensive periods of listening. Translation: time, commitment and high costs.

The most important claim listening therapy has is that it helps build neuron connections and form pathways. Children with autism have decreased neuron connections or smaller neural pathways. So using this therapy seems to make sense.

Like any therapy, sometimes therapeutic listening works and sometimes it does not. Once you start a program, you have to follow daily steps to see results. That can take months, and thousands of dollars.

We tried the least expensive route, headphones and CDs. Our occupational therapist introduced us to it and we saw some positive initial results. We bought our CDs through Vital Sounds. The program includes Sennheiser HD500A Headphones and CDs. Now get ready to gasp: the headphones are $145 and the discs run at about $16 each -- and this was the "inexpensive" route.

The music is odd unless you have sensory issues. It has at least two tracks of sounds running at once. There is a standard music track, then erratic beats, rhythms, and sounds pop in. The music seems to have quite an impact on the vestibular system. The reviewer (adult) had to sit down when listening to the music to avoid falling down.

When listening, our child becomes more focused and organized. Verbal stimming, humming and rhythmic sounds go away. There are language and eye contact improvements. It has a calming effect that lasts about two hours after the music is no longer played.

The only issue we have with Vital Sounds, and listening therapy in general, is that our autism child usually resists a new CD. He sometimes fights us on putting the headphones on too, but once he gets started, he likes it. (The refusals we get are the same tone used when not wanting to do homework). But generally, he listens to the new music when it comes in.

When it works, it's easy in-home therapy. We hook up the headphones to an i-pod shuffle and upload the music to it. The listening therapy is an easily applied therapy. We recommend trying it before purchase. Gasp.

Grade: B+

(There are parents in our area that have started a disc swap. Once you purchase the headphones, you may want contact your local autism group to see if parents have unused discs.)